Chapter 27

Jesus Is Handed Over to Pilate.^{[a] 1} When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in council to decide how to put him to death. ² They bound him and led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself.^{[b] 3} When Judas discovered that Jesus, whom he betrayed, had been condemned he was seized with a sense of remorse, and he brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” They replied, “Of what importance is that to us? That is your responsibility.” ⁵ Flinging the silver pieces into the temple, he departed. Then he went off and hanged himself.

⁶ The chief priests retrieved the silver coins and said, “It is not lawful for us to deposit this into the temple treasury, for it is blood money.” ⁷ They conferred together, and then used it to purchase the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸ This is the reason why that field to this very day is called the Field of Blood.

⁹ Thus was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:^[c]

¹¹ Jesus Is Questioned by Pilate.^[d]Meanwhile, Jesus was brought into the presence of the governor, who asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said so.”^{[e] 12} And when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he offered no reply. ¹³ Pilate then said to him, “Have you not heard how many charges they have brought against you?” ¹⁴ But he did not offer a single word in response, much to the governor’s amazement.^[f]

¹⁵ Jesus Is Sentenced to Death. Now on the occasion of the feast, the governor’s custom was to release to the people one prisoner whom they had designated. ¹⁶ At that particular time, they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. ¹⁷ Therefore, after the people had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over.

¹⁹ While he was still seated on the judge’s bench, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man. I have been greatly troubled today by a dream that I had about him.”^[g]

²⁰ Meanwhile, the chief priests and the elders had persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²¹ Therefore, when the governor asked them, “Which of the two men do you want me to release to you?” they shouted, “Barabbas!” ²² Pilate asked them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them shouted, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ He asked, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they only screamed all the louder, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was about to occur, he took some water and washed his hands^[h] in full view of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.” ²⁵ With one voice the entire crowd cried out, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”^{[i] 26} He then released Barabbas to them, and after Jesus had been scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.

²⁷ Jesus Is Crowned with Thorns.^[j] Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they placed it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. Then, bending the knee before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ They also spat upon him and, taking the reed, used it to strike him on the head. ³¹ And when they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of the robe, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him away to crucify him.

³² The Way of the Cross. As they went out, they encountered a man from Cyrene,^[k] named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.

³³ Jesus Is Crucified on Calvary. When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull,^{[l] 34} they offered him some wine to drink that had been mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink the mixture.^{[m] 35} And after they had crucified him,^[n] they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down there to keep guard over him. ³⁷ Above his head was inscribed the charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Two thieves were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.^[o]

³⁹ Those people who passed by jeered at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who claimed you could destroy the temple and rebuild it within three days, save yourself! If you truly are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

⁴¹ In much the same way, the chief priests, together with the scribes and the elders, joined in the mockery, saying, ⁴² “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusted in God; now let God deliver him if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴ The thieves who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

⁴⁵ Jesus Dies on the Cross.^[p] Beginning at midday, there was darkness over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶ And about three o’clock^[q] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”—that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

⁴⁷ On hearing this, some of the bystanders said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ One of them immediately ran off to get a sponge, which he soaked in vinegar, put on a stick, and gave to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait! Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ Then Jesus again cried out in a loud voice and gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and rocks were split apart. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. ⁵³ And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.^{[r] 54} Now when the centurion and those who were keeping watch over Jesus with him witnessed the earthquake and all that was happening, they were terrified, and they said, “Truly, this man was the Son of God.”

⁵⁵ Many women were also present, looking on from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and ministered to him. ⁵⁶ Among these were Mary Magdalene,^[s] Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷ Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb.^[t] When evening came, there arrived a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. So Pilate ordered that it be handed over to him.

⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb that he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled an immense stone against the entrance of the tomb and departed. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulcher.

⁶² The Guard at the Tomb. The next day, on the morning after the preparation day,^[u] the chief priests and the Pharisees came to Pilate in a group ⁶³ and said to him, “Your Excellency, we recall that while he was still alive, this impostor said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, issue orders that the tomb be kept under surveillance until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may go there and steal his body, and then tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This final deception would be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go and make the grave as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ And so they went forth and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and posting a guard.